What Dreams May Come
by Riordan and Lark
Summary: A short one-shot about the 10th Doctor and Rose. They escaped another close encounter-Rose is mad at him, but it's not about nearly being eaten by cannibals. Could the Doctor have forgotten what day it is?


_My eyes are open wide by the way _

_I made it though the day,_

_I watch the world outside- _

_By the way, I'm leaving out today._

_I just saw Haley's Comet, she waved, _

_Said 'Why you always running in place? _

_Even the Man in the Moon disappears somewhere in the stratosphere.'_

_~Second Chance_

_**What Dreams May Come**_

_Roll…rooooolllll…rooooooooooooollllll…roooooollll—THUD. _

"Would you just stop a moment? I can't even hear myself think!" Rose turned away from the kitchen counter, a frown on her face and a knife in her hand.

The Doctor, trying to escape from a toppled rolling chair and a pile of laundry that had happened to be unfortunately in his path, looked up. A familiar expression of delight shone on his face despite the lavish adornment of mismatched socks covering him.

"Sorry…can I help?" he asked.

"You look ridiculous," Rose snapped, turning back to her cooking with a huff.

Throwing off socks and struggling to get up, the Doctor finally gained his feet again with a bounce. Walking over to his companion, he said, "What? But I thought magenta was my color." He pulled a stubborn pink sock off his sleeve, static electricity crackling. "Right then, off you go."

He leaned over Rose's shoulder, peering at the mess of apples, flour, salt, and other ingredients spread out over the counter-top.

"But really, a rolling chair? Brilliant! Can't believe I missed that before. Human beings always come up with the most ingenious things, aside from aerosol cheese. One would fit nicely on the Tardis, don't you think?" He trailed off in mid-ramble with he saw the ferocity with which Rose was dicing apples. He wisely chose to stand a few paces off.

"Could you just sit still for a few minutes?" Rose demanded, staring him down into a chair across the room. She had voiced that sentence as a question, but it was definitely an order.

The Doctor sat in the chair, mystified. He leaned forward, tapped his foot, and then sat back again. Only the sound of Rose's movements filled the air as she prepared a crumble. He examined the ceiling. Rose stirred some ingredients together. He ran a hand through his brown hair. She poured the cobbler into a dish. He looked out the window. She opened the oven and slid the dish inside.

Suddenly, the Doctor hit upon a realization, the connection showing on his face.

"Oh, you're not still angry about that rainstorm?"

Rose slammed the over door shut, flinging off the oven mitts. She crossed her arms.

"A rainstorm? You mean that hurricane that nearly trapped us in that horrible place?"

The Doctor shrugged. "How was I supposed to know the locals were cannibals?"

Rose was undeterred. She continued, "And we never did find that stupid…whatever it was you were looking for."

The Doctor suddenly looked apologetic and glanced down at the floor. "Well, actually, I did find it…"

"When?"

"Well, uh-"

"Before or after the storm started?"

The Doctor cringed a little and chanced a furtive glimpse at her face. "Before…What, didn't I mention it?"

Rose shot him a glare that would have felled an ordinary man. Stalking off, she disappeared into the next room. He heard a door slam and winced at the noise. He sighed. That…did not go well. Pulling out a small box from his pocket, he sighed again.

Outside, the day was dismal. Rain poured down relentlessly, dully pounding against the windows and roof. Occasionally, a rumble of thunder would shake the sky. Night was falling and London's lights were coming on, glowing in the darkness. He had wanted the day to be special, but his usual misfortune had caught up with him yet again. It was a dreary day. And it was Rose's birthday.

The Doctor, standing at the window, looked at the unremarkable box in his hand. He turned it over once, then twice. Perhaps there was something he could do.

Rose sat on her bed, hugging a pillow and trying not to cry. She knew the Doctor had tried to take her somewhere nice, but after a long week of cheating death and running for her life, a rainstorm and cannibals were just too much. It was hard living with the Doctor. Things hardly ever turned out right the first go-around.

Looking out at the rain, she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. She was about to turn away from the window when she noticed someone standing out in the rain gazing up at her window. She drew closer to the glass.

"Doctor?"

There he was, standing in the downpour. Forgetting that it was raining for a moment, he lowered the umbrella he was holding and beckoned to her. In seconds, he was drenched, but he still stood there, grinning up at her. She felt a small smile tug at her lips. He beckoned again, this time holding onto the umbrella. Why not? She had been following the Doctor for awhile now. And following into worse places, too.

She grabbed a raincoat and dashed out the door.

When she reached him, he smiled. Without a word, he took her hand and pulled her along. Rose wanted to ask him where they were going, but by the time she had formed the question in her mind, they had stopped. They were now standing near an entrance to a subway station. The Underground sign reflected into the biggest puddle Rose had ever seen, the red and blue light rippling on the water's surface.

Rose, now utterly baffled, gave up.

"What, Doctor? You want to ride the Tube?"

He shook his head, a smile spreading across his features as he pulled the box from his pocket. He gave it to Rose.

"Rose Tyler, your birthday present."

She took it gingerly, unsure of what it might contain, but curious as well. The Doctor waited eagerly for her to open it. The box was a rectangular shape, with odd patterns scratched into the surface. She located a sort of latch on one side and carefully raised the lid. What she found were several small, dark beads. She looked up at the Doctor, confused. Before she could ask, he crouched down beside the puddle. Rose quickly ducked, too, to stay under the umbrella. The Doctor took one of the beads out of the box, took her hand, and placed the bead in it. Then, he blew on the bead gently.

Rose gasped as it began to glow softly, as if a fire burned within the small object. Comforting warmth radiated from it. She looked at the Doctor, whose dark eyes were reflecting the light. He motioned for her to drop it in the puddle. Hesitantly, she turned her hand over, letting it drop into the water. The instant the glowing bead hit the water it burst into a shimmering flower of sparks. Little dashes of light danced on the water and spun into the air towards the sign. The flower, like no bloom Rose had ever seen, turned from red to blue before her eyes, sparkling with flashes of light. While she watched the spectacle in wide-eyed wonder, the Doctor took more beads, blew on them, and then tossed them into the puddle as well. More flowers sprang up, filling the air with sparks of all colors. Rose laughed, delighted at the amazing display.

As they watched the flowers bloom and the sparks dance, Rose turned to the Doctor, who looked pleased with himself.

"What are they?" she asked softly.

"They're seeds engineered with neutrinos. Cosmic rays are collected from every part of the universe, from supernovas, from suns, and then embedded in these seeds. Normally, they'd pass right through normal matter, but the seeds are specially designed to hold them in. Part of the universe stops, just for you." The Doctor looked into her eyes meaningfully for a moment, then glanced away again. "When they're planted in deep enough water, they bloom as the neutrinos escape." He grinned at her. "The colors are borrowed from that sign there. A little trick the engineers threw in."

"They're beautiful." Rose watched the dazzling sparks twirling around. She felt happy, being there with the Doctor. He had his faults, but he sure knew how to cheer her up. Then, the sparks began to collect into shining points of light, which then spun up into the sky, lost to the night. Trails of shimmering blue and red followed them into the darkness, leaving a little glow behind. The Doctor found himself being hugged. As he wrapped his arms around her, he asked quietly, "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

Rose laughed. "For now, anyway."

The Doctor smiled. He turned from gazing into the night sky to look at her.

"Happy Birthday, Rose."

Shortly afterwards, they returned to the house where Jackie Tyler and Mickey were waiting. They had thrown a few festive streamers up and a nice dinner had been laid out. After the Doctor pulled off her dripping raincoat, Rose went to her mom, who gave her a great big hug.

"Happy birthday, love."

Mickey gave her a hug, too. "Good to see ya back."

Rose and Mickey went on into the kitchen, talking. The Doctor took off his own long brown coat and hung it up. He was just thinking that the evening was shaping up nicely when he received an unexpected slap. Jackie did not look happy.

"What'd I do this time?" he wanted to know. "That smarts!"

"Waltzing around in a rainstorm? Do you want 'er to catch a death of cold? You should have more sense." With that, she left to join the rest of the party.

The Doctor, a little startled, rubbed his cheek. He had to remember to watch himself here. Rose's mother was _dangerous_. In the kitchen, dinner was ready. They all sat down and began to eat and talk. The Doctor was thankful that in Rose's account of the day's trip she had neglected to mention the cannibals living on that particular moon—for his sake. Jackie would have definitely not forgiven him for taking her daughter to a place like that. As they launched into a discussion of the local news, the Doctor helped himself to a bit of the crumble that Rose had baked earlier.

"And then the Doctor and—" Rose stopped in mid-sentence, hearing a slight choking noise. She looked over at the Doctor, whose face showed clear disgust. "Now what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing wrong with me, not that I know of. Something wrong with this crumble." He poked at it suspiciously with his spoon.

"Now that's too far!" Rose said, serving herself a spoonful of crumble. "You can take me anywhere you like, but you can't say that my cooking is bad." She took a bite of it. Her face contorted and then she promptly spit it out again.

"See?" the Doctor laughed.

"But…I followed the recipe exactly…"

The Doctor licked the spoon and shuddered at the taste. "It's about…thirty point seven percent salt."

Rose looked over at the counter. Apples, blackcurrants, flour, salt, baking powder…but no sugar. She began to laugh.

"Now isn't that just the perfect ending to this day?"

"Well, I don't know," the Doctor put in, smirking. "It's just a bit…bracing…that's all."

"How about this instead?" Jackie walked in, carrying a cake lit with flickering candles. The icing had been sculpted into little rosettes on the top. Rose beamed, tucking her hair behind her ears. As the candles were lit, she looked over at the Doctor, who gave her a jovial smile in return.

"Have you ever celebrated a birthday, Doctor?" she asked.

He looked ponderous and then shrugged.

"A few, I suppose. I gave up the practice, though."

"How sad," Rose said. "Why give it up?"

The Doctor gazed at her quizzically.

"Ever try putting nine hundred candles on a cake?"

"Now, everybody has to sing!" Jackie interrupted.

As they sang "Happy Birthday," the rain continued to pour down outside, but the cold and the gloom were kept out by the cheer inside.


End file.
